NJ Town Hit by Sandy Re-named "Oklahoma Gas & Electric" for a Day

Amidst all the talk of stuff like the fiscal cliff and the political scandals that tear at the very fabric of our great country, it’s a welcome relief to get some good news to share with you on Lower 48 (Plus2).Are you ready to feel good about your fellow Americans? Good. I am too.

One People

You’ll find many friendly regional and state vs.state rivalries in the USA. Rivalries like Texas-Oklahoma, Ohio-Michigan and North vs.South. While many jabs are thrown back and forth in these engagements, they are generally friendly and at the end of the game, contest or competition, both sides are willing to sit down with the opposition and have a beer or break bread. The same can be said when disaster strikes.

My point is that in spite of whatever our differences may be, in a time of tragedy or emergency, there is no real animosity between groups of Americans. Our instinct is to bond together as One People and face adversity head on with a steely resolve and kick its ass.

Such is the case with Hurricane Sandy.

Sandy

In the wake of tens of billions of dollars in damage and untold suffering and hardship from Hurricane Sandy, a happy story emerges from one of the hard hit areas of New Jersey.

A New Jersey city temporarily took on the name of a utility company to honor the work of its employees following Hurricane Sandy.

OG&E, NJ for a Day

The city of Glen Rock temporarily renamed itself Oklahoma G&E, N.J., for a 24-hour period in honor of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. crews who worked to restore power to the city after the October storm.

Mayor John van Keuren said the town’s proclamation celebrated the workers’ “great compassion and fortitude and graciousness while performing the repairs in an efficient way.”

“Because the residents of Glen Rock appreciate the speed with which the OG&E crews responded to our need for power restoration, and because the residents of Glen Rock value the professionalism of their work,” the proclamation reads. This story is a perfect example of what happens when our fellow Americans are confronted with hardship. The unaffected instinctively and immediately cast aside any variances that may contrast one part of the country with another, their focus and tenacity to overcome disaster directed squarely at the challenge at hand, laser-like in their intensity, compassionate in their execution.